Dynamic response of armor-piercing bullets to blunt and penetration with protective gelatin

Abstract

To investigate the coupled damage mechanism of blunt impact and bullets penetration after penetrating ballistic plates against human body targets, experiments were conducted using 6.8 mm caliber armor-piercing bullets against gelatin targets with protective coatings. A numerical analysis model was developed to simulate bullet penetration into gelatin with protective coatings, obtaining endpoint characteristic quantities such as bullet velocity changes, changes in energy distribution, pressure, stress, and stress wave variations within the gelatin target after protection. The results indicate that at a velocity of 640 m·s-1, the 6.8 mm caliber armor-piercing round failed to penetrate the ballistic plate yet still caused a blunt impact depression of 37 mm in depth. Under conditions where the bullet did not penetrate the ballistic plate, approximately 80% of the bullet's kinetic energy was absorbed by the ballistic plate. At a velocity of 740 m·s-1, the bullet penetrated the ballistic plate, resulting in a blunt impact depression depth of 56 mm and an instantaneous cavity with a maximum diameter of 60 mm. During the process of penetrating the ballistic plate, approximately 50% of the bullet's kinetic energy was absorbed by the ballistic plate, and about 40% of the remaining kinetic energy transferred into the gelatin during the penetration of the target.

Keywords

• Armor-piercing bullet
• Ballistic plate
• Ballistic gelatin
• Temporary cavity